The Reserve Forces (Call-out and Recall) (Financial Assistance) Regulations 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations give effect to a new scheme for providing financial assistance for individuals and employers who suffer financial loss as a result of the call-out or recall of individuals for permanent service in the armed forces. A reservist who is self employed or a partner in a firm may claim in the capacity of a reservist, an employer or both.

Under regulation 3 a reservist will on production of documentation prescribed in Schedule 1 be entitled to an award, called a “reservist’s standard award”, for loss of earnings and certain other allowances. Those allowances may include pension payments or other allowances which are paid into a fund by an employer for the benefit of the reservist or his family. If they are paid on condition that the reservist also contributes to that fund, regulation 3(6) requires the reservist to continue to make such contributions if he is to be entitled to an award equivalent to the payments into the fund which the employer would have made had the reservist not been called out or recalled. Awards under regulation 3 are subject to a limit specified in Schedule 2, depending on the reservist’s paid rank or specialist skills.

A reservist who wishes to claim more than the amount to which he is entitled under regulation 3 may claim a reservist’s hardship award under regulation 4. There is no financial limit to such an award but the reservist must satisfy the adjudication officer that he has suffered or will suffer hardship which a reservist’s standard award will be insufficient to relieve.

An employer who incurs extra costs as a result of the absence of an employee on permanent service may apply under regulation 5 for an employer’s standard award. Eligibility is subject to production of documentation specified in Schedule 1 and to a maximum award. An employer may apply for a lump sum where he has incurred one-off costs or for sums equivalent to recurring costs which he may incur weekly or monthly, for example, during the period of the reservist’s relevant service. Awards are subject to a limit, depending on whether it is a lump sum or in respect of recurring costs.

Where as a result of the reservist’s absence an employer has suffered hardship which an employer’s standard award is insufficient to relieve, the employer may claim an employer’s hardship award under regulation 6. In order to be eligible he must satisfy the adjudication officer that he has reasonably incurred costs exceeding one and a half times the limit for an employer’s standard award.

Under regulation 7 an employer may apply for a retraining award. This recognises that during a prolonged absence on permanent service an employee may lose some of the skills necessary for his civilian work or a qualification or licence may lapse. The award is subject to a limit of £2,000.

A person who is self-employed or a business partner or the Crown may apply for an award under regulation 5, 6 or 7. An employer will not, however, be eligible for an award under these Regulations for permanent service by his employee as a special member of a reserve force under Part V of the Reserve Forces Act 1996.

Regulation 8 specifies the time limits within which claims must be made.

Regulation 9 permits a claim under these Regulations to be made or continued on behalf of a claimant by anyone duly authorised by the claimant, or, where the claimant has died, by his personal representatives.

Regulation 10, with Schedule 3, specifies the name and address of the person to whom claims must be made and requires that person, if he is not an adjudication officer, to pass on claims immediately to an adjudication officer.

Regulation 11 sets out in paragraphs (1) to (3) the obligations on claimants to furnish the information specified in Schedule 1 or required by the adjudication officer to be furnished under paragraph (4).

Regulation 12 sets out the obligation of an adjudication officer to consider a claim and to give a written statement of the reasons for his decision, how the award (if any) has been calculated and the claimant’s right of appeal to a reserve forces appeal tribunal. It also confirms that it is the Secretary of State who will pay any sum awarded.

An adjudication officer has the power under regulation 13 to reject any claim where the claimant has failed to comply with a requirement to produce evidence or with the relevant time limit specified in regulation 8.

Regulation 14 sets out an adjudication officer’s additional powers, namely to make an interim award and to review his determination at any time up to the start of the hearing of an appeal against that determination. He also has power under this regulation to deem a period of relevant service as beginning at the time when the reservist presents himself for relevant service in case, for example, there is a significant delay between that date and the date on which the reservist is accepted into service.

Regulation 15 provides for the automatic uprating of awards after a year of permanent service to take into account inflation and to avoid the administrative burden of a claimant having to make a fresh claim for an increased award.

Regulation 16 ensures that the administrator of a pension scheme for the benefit of a reservist or his family cannot refuse to accept payment of premiums by the Secretary of State in substitution for, for example, the reservist’s employer. It also empowers the Secretary of State to seek information verifying that such payments have been applied for the purposes for which they were awarded.

A compliance cost assessment of the effect that this instrument would have on the costs of business is available from the Directorate of Reserve Forces & Cadets Secretariat, Room 6/27, Metropole Building, Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5BL.